House GOP to Hold 'Stop Government Abuse' Week

House Republicans will devote next week to underscoring the abuse of taxpayers by government agencies, with a focus against giving more power to the IRS for the implementation of Obamacare.

The actions will be followed up in the fall with the introduction of 10 pieces of legislation to remedy what GOP lawmakers consider the most excessive cases of government abuse.

Led by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia and House Republican Study Committee Chairman Steve Scalise of Louisiana, "Stop Government Abuse Week" will highlight examples of abuse by government agencies, career employees, and regulations.

Among the pieces of legislation that will be offered as a counterattack to government excess is the "Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act" (REINS), which requires congressional approval for federal regulations that cost over $100 million.

Another measure, the "Government Employee Accountability Act," permits government agencies to place employees on unpaid leave when they are under investigation for certain serious offenses.

Under current rules, when a senior federal employee is facing an investigation even for the most serious allegations, their superiors can only put them on paid leave — where they can collect taxpayer-funded salaries for months and even years.

The brunt of the Republican-led attack in "Stop Government Abuse Week" will deal with the Internal Revenue Service. With the implementation of Obamacare on the horizon, the IRS will play a part in nearly 50 different parts of the legislation officially known as the Affordable Care Act.

"In fact, there will even be an office established within the IRS just to implement Obamacare," Republican Rep. Tom Price of Georgia told Newsmax.

Price, a physician, has authored a bill which bans the IRS from implementing any part of Obamacare.

Price predicted that all 10 pieces of legislation dealing with government abuse will pass the House.

Asked if these measures will simply be enacted on an up-and-down partisan vote of House members, Price said, "No, I think you'll see quite a few votes from Democrats in favor of these proposals."

"Just look at the vote on delaying the mandate on employers to provide health insurance, in which about one-sixth of the Democratic House members voted yes. And on the vote to delay the individual mandate to buy health insurance, one-seventh of the Democrats in the House voted yes," Price said.

The Georgia Republican said that all 10 pieces of legislation Republicans will offer to deal with government abuse "were generated by real people with real experiences dealing with the power and excesses of the federal government."

The decision of House Republicans to end this session of Congress with "Stop Government Abuse Week" before adjourning for the summer is a clear sign the GOP will be talking about the issue in the fall and on the campaign trail in 2014.

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax.